About the Author - Dr. Richard Kohls

Dr. Kohls, a native of Kentland, Indiana, received his B.S. degree from the Purdue College of Agriculture in 1942. After service in WWII as a captain of military intelligence in the Far East, Kohls received an M.A. degree from the University of Missouri where he also was an instructor in agricultural economics.

He joined the faculty at Purdue in 1948 as an instructor in agricultural economics and received his Ph.D. from Purdue in that discipline in 1950. As a professor of agricultural economics, Kohls taught courses and did research in agricultural marketing and prices. In 1967 he was named one of Purdue's outstanding undergraduate teachers. Kohls served as assistant head of Purdue's Department of Agricultural Economics from 1965-66.

He was assistant to Purdue's vice president for academic affairs from July, 1966 until August 1968, when he became Purdue's Dean of Agriculture. He served as dean for 12 years until August 1980. He returned to his faculty position in the Department of Agricultural Economics, and retired from that position in 1986. Upon retirement, Kohls was named Dean Emeritus of Agriculture and Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics.

Following retirement, Kohls continued to author a regular column "It's Your Business." Kohls also maintained close ties to the Agricultural Alumni Association, providing the Executive Secretary with an historical perspective of the Association's business. He also continued to serve on the Fish Fry gags committee that developed the satirical parodies for which that meeting was known, retiring from that role when the meeting format was changed in 2002.